“Kandoro sure likes flowers, doesn’t he?” laughed Hafsah. Kandoro and Nelchaka, playing side by side on the blanket, burbling happily at the little wildflowers waving in the breeze, or crawling after the occasional butterfly that wandered by. The two baby boys were about the same age and size, although Nelchaka was mostly pink and tan […]

Tonight was the summer solstice. And the summer solstice was the day of the Festival of the Horned God, one of the most important days for House Penia, which relied almost entirely on farming for its livelihood. They grew wheat, barley, corn and several other grains, a range of vegetables and fruit—especially grapes—and livestock including […]

– 1 – Donn slumped back on the bed and watched the Trooper’s Friend suck his blood. It pulsated slowly, rhythmic bulges flowing down its mottled red-and-brown body from head to tail. It didn’t really have a head or a tail, just a slug-like body with a mouth at one end. Empty it was the […]

Noor sat with the twins and three-year-old Donnal, waving goodbye, until Shurala was out of sight on the road down to the village. He was off to Dylath-Leen with a group of villagers to sell the year’s wool, along with a few lambs that had been born a bit early and were now big enough. […]

It was good to see House Penia again after all this time. He stopped to savor the view. The road from Dylath-Leen turned downhill from here, through scattered groves and fields and houses to the river, branching off here and there, before reaching the village proper. The waterwheel was turning, driving the millstones and the […]

They had done well at Baharna, selling many of the wares they had brought from Dylath-Leen: bolts of multi-colored cloth woven of Ulthar wool, iridescent textiles from Hatheg, apples from Sinara and Jaren, Dylath-Leen’s own rubies and more, traded for the fragrant resins of Oriab’s inner groves, the delicate porcelain fired by the artists of […]

Chapter 1 “Come in, come in,” welcomed Chóng, inviting Donn and Hakim in with a wave of his hand. “Sit; let me pour you some tea.” “Thank you, Factor,” said Donn, taking the bench to one side as Hakim sat on the other. Chóng got out two more blue porcelain cups and filled them with […]

Donn first appeared in the Book of Richard, where so many of my stories canbe traced back to. His early years are mentioned in passing, but the first story (so far) takes place when he is already an independent merchant, traveling the Western Continent, The stories are all tagged with “Book of Donn” and have […]

Bent over under the punishing weight of the basket on her back, Lara paused as the sun was just breaking over the mountains. She needed to reach the market and set up her stall before the first customers came, and before the sun got too hot… the sun would spoil her fresh corn. Her basket […]